Improvement in railroad-car stoves



A-. REESE.

Railroad Car Stoves.

N0. 142,867. PatentedSeptember16,I873.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ABRAM REESE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-CAR STOVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 142,867, dated September 16,1873; application fiJed May 9, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAM REEsE, of Pitts.- burg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Self-Extinguishin g Oar-Stove; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawin g forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a view of the interior of a railroad-car, showing the attachment and position of my improved stove. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the stove.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in each.

My invention relates to the construction of a railroad-car stove, provided with suitable means and attachments for extinguishing the fire therein at the instant the sides or ends of the car are crushed in, so as to prevent any danger from fire in case of accident; and it consists in the arrangement and attachment of devices for the purpose of opening a valve in the bottom of a reservoir for water or any suitable heavy fluid arranged above the stove, so that upon the crushing in or breaking of the shell of the car such valve shall be immediately opened, so as to permit the escape of the fluid from the reservoir into the fire.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe its construction and use.

Above the stove a, and attached thereto, I arrange a reservoir, b, which is designed to be filled with water through the port 0. Inside of the reservoir is a vertical stem, 01,

which projects down through the cover 0 and through the bracket f, and which is provided at its lower end with a valve, g. The valve 9 is designed to close the opening h between the reservoir 1) and the stove a. The valve g is held down upon its seat by the pressure of the lever 6 upon the upper end of the stem d. The lever i has its fulcrum at i on the rigid arm i and is held in suitable position to keep the valve on its seat by the cord or wire k, which extends to, and is attached to, the eyes I at the top, side, corner, and end, respectively,

of the car. On the stem (2, and pressing outward against the stop d and the top of the bracket f, is a spiral spring, a. The tendency of this spring is to force the valve 9 up from its seat, so as to open the port between the reservoir and the stove. Between the reservoir b and the top plate a of the stove is an air space or chamber, m, which is interposed between the stove and the reservoir to prevent the water in the latter from becoming heated and evaporating. The water is conducted from the strainer or rose 0 by the spout p. The rose 0 is made to spray the water over the entire fire. The width of the spray is limited, as indicated by the dotted lines, so that.

the water shall not strike the heated stove, as there is then danger of breaking the latter. The strainer 0 may be formed by perforating the plate a in any desired way.

The operation is as follows: In case the shell of the car, or that portion of the car to which the cord is attached, is broken or crushed in, as frequently happens in case of an accident, the cord is is immediately slackened, and loosens the rigid pressure of thelever i,- then, the pressure of the lever 1' upon the valve-stem 01 being partially or entirely removed, the spiral spring a raises the valve 9 from its seat, so as to open the port h and permit the water to flow from the reservoir upon the fire in the stove, so as to extinguish it.

Instead of making use of water, it is evident that I can use carbonic-acid gas, or any other heavy fluid having like qualities.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of the cord k, connected, as described, to the shell of the car, lever i, and valve 9, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The valve g, operated by the spring n, in combination with the reservoir 1) and stovea, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I, the said ABRAM REESE, have hereunto set my hand.-

ABRAM REESE.

Witnesses:

A. S. NIoEoLsoN, T. B. KERR. 

